ADP vs NOW vs SSNC Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing, ServiceNow and SS&C Technologies Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$109.65 -15.6% 1M -39.9% 1Y
Market cap
$108.68B
P/E
75.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 4, SS&C Technologies Holdings 2, ServiceNow 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADPNOWSSNCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $118.47B $108.68B $19.14B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x 75.2x 22.5x SSNC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 28.5x 11.7x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +21.8% +8.7% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 9.4% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.2% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.5% -39.9% -3.2% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.0%/yr -4.7%/yr +0.3%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.7% 66.6% 29.3% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 52/100 51/100 NOW

Percentile Scorecard

ADPNOWSSNC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisADPNOWSSNC
Valuation 37 #64 of 101 36 #65 of 101 82 #19 of 101
Growth 28 #70 of 97 49 #50 of 97 30 #68 of 97
Profitability 75 #24 of 93 79 #20 of 93 61 #37 of 93
Financial Health 20 #87 of 108 53 #51 of 108 –
Shareholder Returns 52 #31 of 63 42 #37 of 63 31 #44 of 63
Overall 42 52 51
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • SSNC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodADPNOWSSNCSPY
1 month +9.3%-15.6%+3.9% +0.7%
3 months +8.4%-0.4%+4.4% +3.7%
6 months +35.0%+24.2%+16.3% +7.1%
Year to date +11.2%-28.4%-7.8% +12.8%
1 year +9.5%-39.9%-3.2% +11.9%
3 years +32.4%-3.6%+61.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year +9.8%-1.2%+17.2% +22.8%
5 years +27.4%-21.4%+1.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year +5.0%-4.7%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +228.2%+536.8%+155.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +12.6%+20.3%+9.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureADPNOWSSNCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.7%66.6%29.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.8%75.9%30.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.090.690.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.34-0.60-0.11 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-64.5%-44.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-41.3%-10.1% -1.2%
52-week high $307.94$186.94$89.62 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$83.00$62.05 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleADPNOWSSNC
P/E now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 28.0x 78.5xmedian 28.0x 22.5xmedian 28.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.8x 7.4xmedian 2.8x 2.8xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.9x 33.9xmedian 16.9x —median 16.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 15.9x 24.0xmedian 15.9x 10.4xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 3.2x 8.7xmedian 3.2x —median 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.89 -22.98median 0.89 1.74median 0.89

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsADPNOWSSNC
Revenue – $15.43B $6.69B
Gross profit – $11.28B $3.22B
Operating income – $1.49B $1.59B
Net income $4.53B $1.45B $853.70M
Free cash flow – $4.75B –
R&D $1.03B $3.47B $530.10M
EPS (diluted) – $1.39 $3.52
Cash & equivalents $3.28B $2.39B $525.40M
Total debt – $7.52B –
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 1.04B 242.00M
Enterprise value $118.47B $87.94B $19.14B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricADPNOWSSNC
P/E 23.9x 78.5x 22.5x
P/FCF 19.9x 24.0x 10.4x
P/Operating cash flow 20.9x 21.3x 10.2x
P/S 4.7x 7.4x 2.8x
P/B 22.3x 8.7x –
P/Tangible book 33.1x 12.0x –
EV/EBITDA – 33.9x –
EV/EBIT – 78.2x –
EV/Revenue – 7.6x 2.8x
EV/FCF – 24.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 20.9x 21.9x 10.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -22.98 1.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPNOWSSNC
Revenue growth (1Y) – 21.8% 8.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 22.1% 7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 14.1% 8.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 19.2% 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -14.9% 11.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 32.1% 10.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.4% -16.5% 0.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -3.1% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) – -16.2% 4.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -3.4% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.6% 10.2% 17.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 21.8% 15.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 20.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 25.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPNOWSSNC
Gross margin – 73.1% –
EBITDA margin – 22.3% –
Operating margin – 9.7% –
Pretax margin – 13.1% –
Net margin – 9.4% –
FCF margin – 30.8% –
Operating cash flow margin – 34.6% 27.8%
Return on equity 81.4% 11.3% –
Return on assets 7.1% 4.6% 4.2%
Return on invested capital – 5.2% –
Return on capital employed – 7.5% –
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 3.7x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 10.4% 4.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPNOWSSNC
Debt / assets – 23.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x –
Debt / FCF – 1.6x –
Liabilities / assets 92.0% 58.9% 66.8%
Equity / assets 8.0% 41.1% –
Interest coverage – 14.6x –
Current ratio 1.0x 0.7x 0.8x
Quick ratio – 0.6x –
Cash ratio – 0.4x –
Altman Z-score – 4.44 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPNOWSSNC
Dividend yield 2.4% – 1.4%
Net buyback yield – 2.3% –
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.3% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusADPNOWSSNC
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2027 28.5xFY2026 11.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $3.85FY2026 $6.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +9.7%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +27.0% +7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $15.25BFY2026 $7.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +14.8%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +17.7% -7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPNOWSSNC
Held by institutions 88.1% 81.6% 84.8%
Institutions holding 2,292 2,225 725
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -2.1% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,086 1,286 385
Institutions selling 874 779 260
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.65 1.48

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ADPNOWSSNC
ADP 1.00 0.50 0.66
NOW 0.50 1.00 0.40
SSNC 0.66 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP, NOW and SSNC?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $118.47B, ServiceNow (NOW) $108.68B, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $19.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP, NOW and SSNC?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.9x, ServiceNow (NOW) 75.2x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 22.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 22.2x, ServiceNow (NOW) 28.5x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 11.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ServiceNow (NOW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: ServiceNow (NOW) +21.8%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.7%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +9.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) -39.9%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) -3.2%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +5.0%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) -4.7%/yr, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.7%, ServiceNow (NOW) 66.6%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 29.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ADP, NOW and SSNC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.